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The Wayne SWCD is a political subdivision of the State of Ohio, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Soil and Water. Each one of Ohio's 88 counties has a local office. The Wayne was established by local election of the populace in 1947.
The public is invited to attend our Board Meetings on the second Tuesday of each month, 8:00 pm at our office.  Our office is located in the County Admistration Building in the lower level.
 Address is:
Wayne SWCD
428 W. Liberty Street
 Wooster, Ohio 44691.
 330-262-2836 or 330-262-6452
E-Mail: info@wayneswcd.org
Dust Storm approaching Stratford, Texas
The Dust Bowl of the 1930's.
NOAA Photo Library

It was the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s, a time when drought choked the Great Plains stretching across Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico and Colorado. Soil from America's breadbasket filled the skies. Sometimes a single dust storm lingered for days.

The storms were the result of drought and poor agricultural practices. Grasslands, which held soil in place, had been plowed and replanted with wheat. With rain, the crop was abundant. But when drought struck in the 1930s, farmers continued to plow and plant. With no ground cover remaining, the winds whipped the soil skyward.

In 1941, the 94th Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 646, authorizing the formation of soil and water conservation districts to develop and implement programs to conserve soil, water and related programs. Between 1942 and 1963, soil conservation districts were formed in every county in Ohio.